Video library

Why watch rather than read

Bariatric operations are hard to picture from a description. Most people can follow the words — a pouch here, a limb of intestine there — without ever forming a clear image of what will actually be different inside them afterwards. The animations below do in twenty seconds what several paragraphs cannot.

None of them show surgical footage. They are 3D anatomical animations, so there is nothing graphic and nothing distressing to look at. Watch them with whoever is coming to the consultation with you; it saves a good deal of explaining later.

What to watch, depending on where you are

• Still deciding. Watch the sleeve and the bypass back to back. Two operations, twenty seconds each, and the difference between restriction and rerouting becomes obvious.
• You have a gastric band. Watch the band animation to see what is currently sitting around your stomach and how the port under your skin connects to it. Then read what the long-term data showed.
• Considering a revision. Watch the animation for whichever operation you are converting to, so the conversation at your visit starts from a shared picture. More on revision surgery →
• Not sure surgery is for you at all. That is a common and reasonable position. Medical weight loss covers the non-surgical route.

These videos are general education. They show the standard anatomy of each operation, not your anatomy, and they are not a substitute for a consultation. Every patient’s situation differs, particularly after previous surgery.